Base-ball glove



No. 6l3,945. Paten ted Nov. 8, I898.

B. F. SHI'BE.

BASE BALL GLOVE.

(Application filed Feb. 12, 1898.)

(No Model.)

W/TNE SE8. lNVENT UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

BENJAMIN F. SI-IIBE, or BALA, PENNSYLVANIA.

BASE-BALL G LOVE.

SPECIFICATION formingpart of Letters Patent No. 613,945, dated November 8, 1898.

Application filed February 12, 1898- Serial No. 7 (No model-3 To all whom it may concern;

Be it known that I, BENJAMIN F. SHIBE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Bala, in the county of Montgomery and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Catchers Mitts; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to that class of mitts used by catchers when playing base-ball; and the object of my improvement is to permanently and cheaply form a pocket or depression in the palm of the glove to aid the catcher in holding the ball and prevent it from slipping from his grasp. 1

To accomplish the desired result, I make the palm of the mitt from a blank cut and sewed together in the manner hereinafter described.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a view of the palm or front portion of the mitt, having my improved pocket therein. Fig. 2 is a View of the back portion of the mitt, showing the finger and thumb stalls attached thereto. Fig. 3 is a sectional view of the finished mitt on lines y y of Fig. 1. Fig. 4. is a plan of the leather blanks from which the front and back portions of the mitt are made.

A represents the front or palm portion of the mitt.

B is the back of the mitt, towhich the finger and thumb stalls 1 2 3 4. 5 are attached by being sewed thereon in the usual way.

C is the edge strip that connects the front and back portions of the mitt together, thus forming the receptacle for the padding D on the inside of the mitt.

A is a pocket-like depression formed in the palm portion of the mitt.

A is a blank showing the shape of the piece of leather from which the palm A and the back B of the mitt are made.

To form the depression or pocket A in the palm of the mitt, the parts forming the front A and back B are cut to the shape shown in Fig. 4.. The cut edges are then drawn together and sewed in the position shown, after which the edge strip 0 is attached and the padding D placed therein. As the outer portion of the blank has been shortened just the size of the cut-away parts, it will be readily seen that when the edges of the cut portions are drawn together a permanent pocket-like depression is formed in the front or palm of the mitt. The back part of the mitt is preferably formed in the same way and from a blank of the same shape as the palm, but after being sewed together it is placed so that the convex side thereof will form the outside'of the mitt.

Instead of cutting the blanks for the front and back in the shape shown in Fig. 4 and removing the cut-away portion these parts may be simply doubled over in the form of plaits and the plaited portion turned inside the mitt.

The cut-away portion (shown in Fig. 4) may be taken out of the blank at other points than those shown in the drawings, and, if desired, instead of making several cuts along the edge of the blank A the amount necessary to shorten the outer edge and form the pocket may be all taken out at one place; but the best results are obtained and most symmetrical mitt made when the blank is cut and sewed together in the manner herein shown. The shape of the cut-away portions may be varied, as a deeper or more shallow pocket or depression is required, and the back of the mitt n1 ay, under some circumstances, be made from a plain blank having no cut-away or plaited portions around the outer edge thereof. To save leather, the blank for the back and palm of the mitt may be made in more than one piece, the several pieces being cut to the required shape and sewed together, so as to form practically one piece.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is-

1. In a catchers mitt a pad having the front or palm side thereof provided with a permanent hollow portion, the said pad-being formed by two blanks having V-shaped forma- Lions in the outer edge thereof, the adjacent edges in each formation being sewed or secured together to form a permanent pocketlike depression or hollow in the front blank, the said blanks being secured together to form said pad; in combination with a suitable hand-stall secured 011 the back of said pad, as set forth.

2. In a catchers mitt, a pad having the front or palm side thereof provided with a permanent hollow portion, the said pad being formed by two blanks the inner one of which has a V-shaped formation in the outer edge thereof, the adjacent edges in this for- [O mation being sewed or secured together to form a permanent pocket-like depression or 

